maybe try it by moving any patch.zip to a different location temporarily, and/or be offline, as in, set your firewall to temporarily block all traffic, or just disconnect from internet. the update checker should be aware of "internet not available" and just pass on to the game launch. small chance that be it. still, worth a shot.
my way, after patching once, i remove any patch.zip from the game folder. the game version is checked upon start anyway, and if there is nothing, it means there is nothing newer.
game also runs always in a offline sandbox, which prevents things like trying to change registry settings etc; updaters have this filthy habit to mess with settings.